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Tucson Shooting Hero; Loughner's Troubled Mental State

Aired January 10, 2011 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: 10:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 7:00 a.m. out west. Here are some of the stories that have us talking this morning.

Gas prices on the rise nationwide. The cost of unleaded has risen by nearly a dime over the last three weeks. The new average, coast to coast, $3.08 a gallon. The experts can't agree on whether those prices will keep climbing, though.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates in China and that turns the spotlight on China's strengthening military might. Beijing's defense officials say it's recent military hardware development is targeting no other countries and poses no threats.

Deep trouble in the deep south, from Texas to the Carolinas, the massive winter storm in the south could snarl air travel across the U.S.. Just last hour, Air Tran Airways canceled all its flights in and out of Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS (voice-over): Extreme acts of violence. They change the relationship between the people and their public servants. From the street corner to the sidewalk to the parking lot.

President Kennedy's assassination, Americans would not see their president in open car motorcades any more. The attempt on President Reagan's life on a D.C. sidewalk. After that, the Secret Service added a group of agents with machine guns to every motorcade.

Then, 2009, politicians and the people uncomfortably close during the contentious town hall debate. A man carries an assault rifle to an anti-Obama rally in Phoenix. The president not far away. No gun law is broken here, but this image of a rifle this close to a president was unnerving.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, there was a shooting at Safeway and I do believe Gabby Giffords was hit.

PHILLIPS: And now, an Arizona congresswoman tries to get closer to her constituents and nearly pays for it with her life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: So politicians and the public clearly they can be risky bed fellows. You see all that and wonder if there should be more barriers between the public and their servant. A congresswoman from California says absolutely not. And this is a woman who saw assassins murder her boss. They nearly killed her, as well.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier survives the infamous congressional trip to Jonestown, Gayana (ph) in 1978. Jim Jones gunman killed her boss, California Congressman Leo Ryan who was there to help people leave the compound. Those gunmen shot Miss Speier several times and she was one of the few who survived. Congressman Speier with us now.

And you know, you saw first hand how dangerous it can be with congresswoman to get close to constituents. As we mentioned, your boss was killed. You were almost killed. But you still ran for office. Why didn't those risks dissuade you from serving?

REP. JACKIE SPEIER (D), CALIFORNIA: Because you can't take the acts of single individuals and somehow multiply that and think that that is what the American people are all about. What we need to do in Congress, though, is lower the rhetoric, the incendiary language that is often used by members on both sides of the aisle needs to cease and we need to really point to everyone and ask the media to do the same.

PHILLIPS: How do you even begin to do that?

SPEIER: Well, I think you do it by example. You know, when we use words like killing and death and create fear in the American people, it then sends a different message to those, frankly, who are often unstable and take guns and do horrific damage.

PHILLIPS: So when this happened over the weekend, what was going through your mind? Did you start thinking about your time in Jonestown? Did you start thinking more about the rhetoric? Were you thinking, I had a feeling this would probably happen at some point?

SPEIER: No. Well, I certainly had all those emotions and all those flashbacks and, you know, my stomach is still churning because I know exactly what Gabby is going through right now. And you know, beyond our prayers and good wishes, you know, everything that any of us can do to be of support to her is going to be very significant in the months and frankly years to come.

So I'm not going to change the way I operate. I'm going to be engaged with my constituency. I think most members of Congress will feel the same because, in fact, it is important for us to be able to meet and greet the people that we serve. And if we start having police presence everywhere we go, it's going to create a chilling effect on discourse and it creates an incredible assault on the Democratic process.

PHILLIPS: Yes. And that is - I think that is what constituents like about being able to come to these town halls and be able to go to the local grocery store and have this back and forth with the individual that's representing them. But we're dealing with a harsh reality now. And this is just one example of how dangerous things have become. And so the Capitol Police even coming out and saying all you should think about having more personal security, do you think that depending on where you are, the issues you're talking about, how controversial those issues are, that maybe certain members westbound - you ay you're not going to do it. But maybe certain members might want to think about personal security?

SPEIER: Well, I think, you know, if you look back to 2009 when we had those hot summer town hall meetings, there was a lot of anger and hostility and vitriol. Truly, there was police presence at virtually all of my town halls but that was a decision made by the local police because they wanted to maintain calm. And you know, they do have a calming effect but so should all of us as members of Congress.

If we start talking quietly, if we start talking without those hot, incendiary words, it's going to just take it down a notch everywhere. And, you know, over the course of the last couple of years, the more outrageous your comments were, the more likely you were going to be able to get campaign contributions from one particular side or the other. I mean, that was what was motivating a good part of it. You know, getting some airtime. I think that the media has to help us just lower it an octave.

PHILLIPS: Do you think those outrageous comments motivate alleged killers like Loughner who we saw boldly walk into that grocery store and put that gun up to Giffords' head?

SPEIER: Well, if you remember during those town halls in 2009, it was non stop on the air waves and you saw people getting angry and hostile and swearing. And so it became acceptable. You know, just like when you tell a lie, but it's said over and over again, somehow it becomes fact. I mean, we have got to just be much more responsible in the way we interact and how we conduct ourselves in normal discourse.

PHILLIPS: Representative Jackie Speier. Heartfelt comments. Really appreciate you being with us this morning. Thank you so much.

Well, Saturday's shooting rampage in Arizona revealed the worst of human behavior and the best. One hero who emerged from that rampage is actually an intern who was working for Congresswoman Giffords for all of a week. Lucky for her, Daniel Hernandez had previously trained as a certified nursing assistant. He kept her calm, helped her breathe, and he used his bare hands to smoother the bullet wound right there on her head. Today, he's being credited with possibly saving her life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL HERNANDEZ, GIFFORDS' INTERN: I don't know if the gunshots were still going on when I was running towards the congresswoman. My only concern was trying to help those that needed the help. I saw a few people on the ground, so I first tried to make sure that those people who still had pulses and still had visible breaths were treated. I only got to see two of three people before I actually noticed that the congresswoman had been hit and she had been hit pretty severely. She had an injury to her head. She then became my first and only priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Hernandez says once the ambulance arrived, he rode with Giffords to the hospital. He says he's confident that she'll pull through because in his words, "she's known as being a fighter."

Many red flags were raised about the behavior of the shooter, 22- year-old Jared Loughner, but it appears that they went unheeded. Why? Could anything have been done to prevent this horrible tragedy? We're asking Dr. Allen Whitman, the founder of D.C. Center for the Study of Violence. He's going to join me live in just about 30 minutes.

And it's a deep freeze for the deep south this morning, the region locked in the cold embrace of a snow, sleet and ice storm, traveling either by air or highway, proving to go be challenging, treacherous. Hundreds of flights in the region canceled. These pictures came to us from I-reporter David Rein, right here in Atlanta. Schools and businesses also closed across the south.

Now, just last hour, we heard from the Arkansas State Patrol, a dozen tractor-trailer rigs stalled by the ice and snow, blocking one interstate near Little Rock.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano just across the street from our headquarters in Centennial Park. So Rob, how is it looking now?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Still cold, still below freezing. We're still getting some moisture. So that is the bad news. The good news is that part of this, the back edge of it is within sight. But the damage done here in Atlanta and other cities across the south, clearly not used to nor equipped for this type of weather scenario.

Atlanta, you know, a million or so people live here and we've got 16 sand trucks and 11 plows in operation today. so you can imagine that coupled with the fact that people don't really have shovels, they don't have scrapers, they're just not very quick to get around.

There are a few folks that are getting out and about. Of course, a four wheel vehicle helps when you're talking about a major street here in downtown Atlanta that hasn't been touched, either by plow or by sand and with this moisture now coming down in the form of wet stuff as opposed to sleet and snow. It's getting very crusty and very glazed over.

There are a number of areas here, not only here but some of the interstates around Georgia and Alabama and Mississippi that have been deemed impassable. So treacherous, treacherous driving today.

Let's talk airports. The Atlanta airport is officially still open at last check. Three out of five runways are open and operational. But the airlines aren't really taking advantage of that. Air Tran has canceled all flights today. Delta, I'm told, is trying to get a few in and out. But obviously, it's going to be a slow go.

Charlotte, here are some of the other expected delays. Charlotte, I've run into similar problems and then the northeast has got some wind issues and the northeast will have more than that as we go through time. Here is the radar. All right. That the moisture is spreading itself across the Carolinas in to the mid-Atlantic in the form of snow and sleet and freezing rain and will be stretching and reaching towards the northeast, kind of combing with the midwestern storm so that will make for winter storms across parts of the northeast.

Winter storm watches have been posted from the Delmarva up through Boston, Pittsburgh will probably see five or six inches. New York City could see six to 10 or more inches and Boston could see up to a foot of snow, as well. Not just the south for this one, Kyra, although it has pretty much shut down the south. It's going to hit the northeast, as well. Back to you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Rob, thanks so much.

And we're just getting word that vice president Joe Biden has landed in Afghanistan. As you know, for the sake of security, these trips are always kept under wraps until they are in country and safe. We're going to find out exactly what his plans are there in Afghanistan. We're working that for you now.

Actress Gwyneth Paltrow has a close connection to one of the victims of the Arizona shooting. So now she's speaking out. We'll hear what she has to say, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH PALIN, FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: This is flipping fun. I'd rather be doing this than in some (INAUDIBLE) old political office. I'd rather be out here being free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, Sarah, you can still be free, but just not on TLC. Sarah Palin's "Alaska" will not be returning to the learning channel for a second season, according to "Entertainment Weekly." The reason for dropping the show is still unclear. But if Palin did choose to shoot more episodes, it could be interpreted as a sign that she had no plans to run for office.

Also, TLC would have to provide equal attention to candidates if she did decide to run. Guess, we'll have to stay tuned for the answer.

Another show that's being dropped, the eight episode mini series, "The Kennedys." Despite a huge cast, a massive budget, and it's completely shot and edited, by the way, the History Channel abruptly dropped the series from its lineup.

"Showbiz Tonight" host A.J. Hammer joining me live from New York. So any word on the thinking behind that decision, A.J.?

A.J. HAMMER, HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": Well, a lot of people are thinking, Kyra, that the History Channel doesn't seem quite ready to tell whatever may be the real reason behind the surprising move. But it is a shocking decision for the history channel to cancel this eight-part mini series. It stars Katie Holmes and Greg Kinnear. And as you said, it's already done.

They did release a statement to "Showbiz Tonight." So here is what they're telling us. "While the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in its totality, we've concluded this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand."

Now, the "Hollywood Reporter" is saying the Kennedy family, specifically Caroline Kennedy lobbied the network and that ultimately forced the cancellation. This doesn't mean the show is not going to be eventually seen, it does look like it will air in Canada and overseas and the producers of the mini-series naturally are reportedly shopping it around to some other network in the U.S. trying to find a channel that might be interested in it.

So Kyra, I'm thinking that publicity will only help the intrigue and when it does finally air more eyeballs will be on that show.

PHILLIPS: Definitely.

All right. We've also been following, you know, of course, this - the tragic shootings this weekend in Arizona, the impact being felt all over the country, including Hollywood.

HAMMER: Yes, it's a surprising connect here, Kyra. Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that she's a distant cousin to Gabrielle Giffords. She released a statement to "Showbiz Tonight" and here is what she's telling us. "Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting Congresswoman Giffords, my thoughts and prayers are with her and her family as well as other victims of this horrible act of senseless violence."

Now, she's not the only connection to the Hollywood community. The youngest victim, Christina Green, was apparently a second cousin to "One Tree Hill" star Sophia Bush. Bush reacted to the shooting on her Twitter account, calling it "devastating." She also added, "there are no words to explain what my cousin's family is going through in Arizona."

And it's not just in Hollywood, of course. The shooting had many personal connections all over, including Major League baseball. Green was the granddaughter of Dallas Green, a successful manager, general manager in the Major League. Dallas Green's long career included a World Series win with Philadelphia and stops with both the Mets and the Yankees in New York. And Kyra, separate from those connections, there has been strong reaction from Hollywood to these tragic events and we're going to have that for you a bit later today on "Showbiz Tonight."

PHILLIPS: All right. Look forward to it. Thanks, A.J..

And all information on everything breaking in the entertainment world, of course, A.J. got it every night on "Showbiz Tonight," 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on HLN.

Well, our troops fighting on the frontlines and now expecting that they'll be taken cared of when once they get home. But the Pentagon is eyeing vets' health care as it trims fat from the budget. Some warriors are getting ready for a showdown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, more on our breaking news.

We're getting word that vice president Joe Biden is on the ground in Afghanistan. The White House says the purpose of that surprise trip is to get a progress report on the transition to Afghan-led security. The vice president will meet with Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai. And then he's going to visit with troops and civilian personnel.

The last time he was on the ground in Afghanistan was about two years ago, January of 2009 as vice president elect. So we're going to follow this trip, bring you updates and of course, if we hear from him, we'll bring that to you.

PHILLIPS: Well, we see it, we watched it, we feel it, talking about our vets, battling depression, thoughts of suicide, traumatic brain injuries and physical wounds. So why on earth would Defense Secretary Robert Gates actually want to slash their health care?

Veterans groups are up in arms. But Gates says before you jump to conclusions and judge him, consider the all mighty dollar. He says, "Leaving aside the sacred obligation we have to America's wounded warriors, health care costs are eating the Defense Department alive. The program is called tricare. Here is where it stands right now.

10 million people are eligible and the cost has exploded. The price tag more than doubled to $50 billion in the past decade. The plan is short on specifics, but we know this much. Fees would go up for military retirees under 65, but rates for older retirees would stay the same. And health care for active duty troops still free.

And Gates says it could save up to $7 billion over the next five years. Paul Reickhoff is the founder and executive director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Paul, the defense the chief has tried to do this before, but it never really got anywhere. What do you think makes this announcement so different?

PAUL REICKHOFF, IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN VETERANS OF AMERICA: Well, times are obviously tougher in America and definitely in Washington. But that's no reason to start nickel and diming our veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. Those retirees under 65 are largely folks who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Over two million folks have served through Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11.

About 500,000 have been there more than once and they're coming home to the toughest economic situation in decades. Unemployment for those veterans is over 11 percent. So we understand times are tough in Washington but our troops are not going to be the place for you to balance your budget or find cost savings. They got to look elsewhere.

PHILLIPS: So if this does pass, how do you think it's going to impact the troops immediately? What will we see right off the bat?

REICKHOFF: Well, it means more money out of pocket for those folks who just left the Army or the Navy or in other service and they're trying to transition into a civilian life or go back to school and they've got families. And they're trying to make ends meet.

So if their health care costs are going to go up, it's going to impact them dramatically. But I don't think this is going to go forward. This has been tried in the past. All of the Veterans Groups in America are going to be united in opposition to this. IAVA stands strongly against these fee increases and we hope that the Department of Defense will look for other areas to cut.

There's plenty of inefficiencies. There's plenty of bloated contracts. They can go find other places that don't impact our personnel that we need most and they really consider this part of our benefit. Health care after you get out of the military, education after you get out of the military, that's part of the deal. We got to hold up our end of the deal and make sure they're taken cared of.

PHILLIPS: We're definitely going to see cuts. I was talking to a high level general just a couple of weeks ago and he was talking about these high level meetings they were having and how stressful it is to see what's ahead and how it's going to completely impact all the branches of the military. So let me ask you about the health care. If we don't see the cuts there, Paul, where do you trim the fat?

REICKHOFF: You know, first of all, that's the challenge for Congress, right? And that's what's going to happen now because is this budget is going to go to Congress and I think you're going to find, you know, most of the House is not going to go near this. They know that the veteran groups are going to be extremely vocal. They know the American people will be behind us and this will kind of be a political third rail.

So I think once it hits the debate in Congress, we're going to see that really, really slow down. But there's plenty of places in a budget that is so enormous for us to cut costs. We know there's tremendous inefficiencies, there are major weapons programs. There's lots of places where they can cut. But it shouldn't be on that young sergeant or that young captain coming back from the military and trying to transition into civilian life, trying to take care of their family and move on. We're talking about health care here for folks who served over and over again in a war that has gone on for almost over 10 years. So you can't really achieve parity between the military and civilian life, if you think about how much our military has done over the last couple of years.

PHILLIPS: And you're talking about wars that have completely devastated so many military families as these guys and women come home and have to deal with these injuries that are just pretty much unfathomable.

All right. Paul Reickhoff, it's always great to have you weigh in. Always appreciate your time and seeing you. Thanks so much.

REICKHOFF: Thank you, Kyra. I appreciate it.

PHILLIPS: You bet.

Red flags, left and right. Coming up, we're taking a closer look at the suspect in the Tucson shootings and some of the warning signs, a lot of the warning signs that went unnoticed, even ignored.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: All right. Stock market's opening bell just rang about an hour ago. Checking the numbers. The Dow industrial is down 73 points.

Well, the nation's auto industry made a remarkable turn around last year. What's in store this year. Poppy Harlow, CNN Money is kicking the tires and checking out the engines at this year's North American Auto Show in Detroit. Poppy, the vibe must be pretty different compared to last year.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You're exactly right, Kyra. What an incredible difference a year can make. You know, the auto show goes on in this big facility right behind us. Last year, we are hearing doom and gloom, Chrysler and General Motors, two companies on their knees in bankruptcy.

This year, they and pretty much all the other automakers are turning nice profits. We're seeing hiring again. It is a big turn around for this industry. Inside, I want to show you some of the pictures, much more flashy displays and more optimistic tone.

We got the big headline this morning, which is the car and truck of the year. First of all, Ford winning truck of the year with the Ford Explorer. It's won that many times. And the car of year, General Motors taking that top spots with their Electric Volt. This is, Kyra, the first time that an electric car has ever won car of the year. So, that's a very big deal for GM, and GM is a very big focus here at the auto show because it is still deeply in the hole to U.S. taxpayers because of the bailout.

And we had a chance to sit down with the head of GM North America to talk about that and also about gas prices as we see them creeping higher and what that means for the industry and for drivers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK REUSS, PRESIDENT, GM NORTH AMERICAN: I'm not in the gas price forecasting business, but I believe, you know, those forecasts are something to be taken very seriously. But at the end of the day when there's a lot of instability around job security and what people think and feel are good things that are happening -- and it's still in a volatile period, I think that the replacement of vehicles with lower operating costs are still going to be something that is very, very important to people. You can replace things and stay with auto car that's older and doesn't have that fuel efficiency and operating costs. And it becomes a personal financial decision as well as still a reflection of who you are.

HARLOW: On the perception issue, during the bankruptcy and the bailout, some people called GM "Government Motors." Has that perception problem gone away, or are you still fighting that in terms of sales?

REUSS: No. I'm a realist. I know it's still there. I don't have any data. We don't go out and survey that. We really, frankly are concentrating on, again, the cars --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: And that is it. GM, sure, a long way from where it was last year, as is Chrysler that was in bankruptcy then. They've got a long way to go. They have mounting competition.

But the focus here, what I've seen all morning at this auto show, Kyra, is small cares and electric vehicles. What we really need to see is whether American drivers are going to buy those. Because as you know, Americans love their big trucks and SUVs, but the focus here in Detroit is all about fuel efficiency. And the concern is that we will see gas go up to $4 pretty soon, and then it will be all about those fuel-efficient vehicles, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Yes, that's a good point. How strong do you think is the recovery for the industry? Because, of course, it's better than last year when GM and Chrysler were bankrupt, but how strong do you think it is overall?

HARLOW: It's a great question because we see all these sales numbers, up 20 percent for the year for a lot of the domestic and international automakers. That's compared to an abysmal year in 2009 when we were in the depths of the recession.

I want to show you some numbers. This is going to give folks a realistic picture of where the auto industry is, OK? When you look at U.S. car and part sales, in the billions, look at these numbers, comparing 2010, last year to 2007. A $66.8 billion in 2010. $76 billion in 2007. So, we're still down 12 percent overall from where we were in 2007.

And Kyra, what is not reflected in those numbers is how many jobs in this industry have been lost. We're hearing some reports that ford may have a big hiring announcement. We're going to ask the CEO of Ford that around noon today. We're bring that to you live as soon as we have it. But this industry is coming back financially, and from a profit standpoint, they're not where they were at the height. And they have a long way to go when it comes to hiring workers, especially union workers and folks, Kyra, right here in the city of Detroit. So we'll get more on that later today and bring it to you. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Poppy. Thanks so much.

It's half past the hour now. Here's some of the other stories that had us talking this morning. Snow is blamed for massive pileup in New Hampshire, but somehow no one was killed. At many as 50 vehicles were caught in the chain reaction crash. That includes two buses, by the way. Interstate 93 in Canterbury was closed for a short time.

College football fans licking their chops for tonight BCS championship. Top ranked Auburn will be looking for its first national championship in more than a half century. Tigers taking on number two Oregon in the title game.

Former House majority leader Tom Delay due in a federal courtroom today. Statements will officially be entered today. And his sentence will be handed down tomorrow. A Texas jury had convicted Delay of illegally funneling corporate money to help elect GOP candidates to the state legislature.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF CLARNECE DUPNIK, PIMA COUNTY, ARIZONA: He has kind of a troubled past, I can tell you that. There's reason to believe that this individual may have a mental issue.

I have no reason to believe that the person -- was insane. Was he unstable? I would agree with that.

We understand that there have been law enforcement contact with the individual where he made threats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Unbalanced, a troubled past, prior run-ins with the law. We are learning so much, and it's disturbing what we are finding out about the Arizona shooting, 22-year-old Jared Loughner. Friends, neighbors, acquaintances all coming forward telling stories of an eccentric, unstable individual.

Here's what we know right now. In 2008, Loughner tried to join the Army. He was rejected. Sources tell CNN that he failed drug testing. Some classmates from Pima College seemed terrified by his behavior. In an e-mail that you'll see here, one classmate wrote, quote, "Class isn't dull as we have a seriously disturbed student in the class, and they're trying to figure out how to get rid of him before he does something bad."

Even his math teacher says that he felt threatened by his behavior in class. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN MCGAHEE, LOUGHNER'S MATH TEACHER: He was a threat. He actually wrote something on the quiz that said "mayhem best." And wrote that in big, bold capital letters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayhem -

MCGAHEE: "Mayhem best."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Yep. It appears all the warning signs were there, but no one did anything about it.

Drew Griffin is investigating Loughner's background from Tucson. Also, Dr. Alan Lipman with D.C.'s Center for the Study of Violence is going to weigh in as well in just a second.

But Drew, let's start with you. What else have you been able to find out about Loughner?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Well, we talked about that math class. That math class was an elementary algebra class that Loughner was taking with about 20 students last summer. It began on June 1. And from day one, the math instructor told me that Loughner was making random, incoherent outbursts. He was challenging the authority of the teacher. And then he would kind of cocoon himself with iPods and not respond at all in class.

You mentioned the e-mail from that student. That student kind of chronicled in real time what was happening in that class as the campus police would come and try to remove him. And at one point, she said "he scares the crap out of me." This was somebody the math instructor said they all thought or feared would come back to class one day with a gun. That's specifically what they said, Kyra.

Eventually, he was removed from that class and removed from the campus altogether and told he could not come back to that campus until and unless he had a psychiatric evaluation.

PHILLIPS: And that's what is so hard to understand. Dr. Lipman, I want you bring you in here, and Drew, I'd love for you to fire out a question or two if you have it.

But Dr. Lipman, Pima College said he need a mental health evaluation before he came back to school, so he just quit school. At the same time, campus police had talked to him five separate times about his disturbances. I mean, there were all these clues leading up to the fact that something was wrong with this kid.

DR. ALAN LIPMAN, FOUNDER, CENTER FOR STUDY OF VIOLENCE: There were more than clues. Just as we saw in Virginia Tech, where you had clear symptoms of psychosis, there was abject indicators. Look, first of all, let's get clear that understanding Jared Loughner is not going to be done on the basis of political ideology. This was a disorganized, delusional, disruptive kid who clearly, based on the ubiquitous evidence of the Internet with the caveat that we haven't seen him was suffering from a psychotic disorder, most likely schizophrenia.

Let's take the videos that we saw, coining of words, the playing with language, the myologism, the coining of words and so forth. The twisted logic. This is what is called, Kyra, formal thought disorder. And if you step into any psychiatric ward in the country, beginning with Yale where I worked 25 years ago to right here in D.C., you will see those writings by schizophrenics.

Number two, dilutions. This was a kid who said "I'm preoccupied with mind control. The government is listening to me." These are the classic dilutions of persecution of schizophrenia. His friend, Katelynn, said that around the age of 19, there was a radical change in his behavior. He became odd, preoccupied with notions about prophesy. This is the pattern of a psychotic break which occurs when? Late teens, early 20s. How old is Loughner? Twenty-two.

What we have here, when he was standing up in his class at Pima Community College and screaming and laughing and the teacher was so fearful that actually he wrote an e-mail saying that he was fearful that there would be an automatic weapon incident, this was a sign. Just like in Virginia Tech, of an untreated psychotic, mental illness that needed to be taken to the counseling centers.

PHILLIPS: OK. But who could -- let's say I was a classmate of his. What could I have done? Could I have done anything? I mean, in this type of instance, do you call the parent and say, look, there's an issue here, you better do something? Can you do something? Can you call authorities? Because, I mean, the law is -- protect these young man. Could I have done anything, if I were a classmate that noticed this?

LIPMAN: Kyra, you have raised the best question. You know, I'm also a lawyer. When we went through the Virginia Tech issue, one of the things that people did not realize is that teachers, parents and friends have the right under HPPA, the regulation which is responsible for these actions, to take that student, if they feel that that student is at risk, to the counseling center. They have the legal right to contact the parents.

Now, here is the problem that we discovered in the Virginia Tech report. Teachers didn't know this. Administrators didn't know this. They thought what it was that you just said, that they would be legally responsible. So, what we've got is a gap of understanding so that someone like Loughner, instead of being sent to treatment, was told, you can't come back.

What happened? He's floating out there in the world in the midst of a psychotic break, becoming more and more psychotic. He contacted Gabrielle in 2007, already with an incoherent statement. And we draw a straight line from that to his psychotic behavior and the tragic results of an untreated mental illness.

PHILLIPS: Wow, someone could have jumped in. Drew, do you want to weigh in?

GRIFFIN: Kyra, can I jump in here?

PHILLIPS: Yes.

GRIFFIN: Yes, I do, because first of all, I want to reiterate what the doctor said, that any kind of political discussion about this guy, from what I can tell, is just ridiculous. In class, he was believed to be like, this liberal pot smoker and you hear among other things that he's a conservative kind of guy. So, I think that is spot on.

But the question for the doctor is, the dean and the campus police had a meeting with Loughner's - with Loughner and with Loughner's parents. This was done together. And they were told, hey, we need psychiatric evaluation.

Now, keep in mind, Doctor, this Pima Community College. This not a Virginia Tech, residential, big-time college. This guy is just taking a class. I wonder what the responsibility was beyond that of the school, and whether or not the real responsibility is going to be on the shoulders of the parents, whom we haven't heard from. He was living with his parents.

LIPMAN: Of course this is an excellent question. And let me be clear. What I was just saying, to reiterate, is that it was a mistake for Pima to release him to the community saying that he could return only with an eval. Why? Because that left him without treatment. So, that particular decision was a mistake. They had the legal right, whether they are Pima Community College or Yale University, they have the legal right to bring that person to treatment, Drew. And so they could have, and this was a case, the most serious of psychotic illnesses where they could have.

Now, let's address the excellent second part of your question. Do parents have responsibility? As I said, yes, Parents, community, friends, can, will reach out to untreated mental illness to prevent these horrific events.

PHILLIPS: Great insight, Dr. Alan Lipman. Drew, thanks so much for weighing in. Definitely a takeaway here from all of us about what we can do the next time any of us across the country come across a young man like this.

LIPMAN: Thank you for your excellent work, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: I appreciate it. Great insight, Dr. Lipman. Drew, thanks a million.

Senators from opposite sides ever side of the aisle on the same side after this. Their message? Tone down the rhetoric.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) PHILLIPS: All right. Some health stories that had us talking this morning.

A new study out on autism and pregnancies. Researchers have actually found that children conceived before an older sibling - was a year old - were three times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than siblings at least three years apart. The journal "Pediatrics" reported on that research.

And here's something else from "Pediatrics." Teens who were optimistic tend to have better health that's those who are not. Researchers found that teens' optimism help ward off substance abuse and antisocial behaviors.

And a warning from the FDA now. Scammers targeting people who buy drugs online. The bad guys use personal information from previous online purchases, then call the victims pretending to be FDA agents. They tell the victims buying drugs online is illegal and they must wire them money to pay fines.

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PHILLIPS: The shooting of Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has forced her colleagues to consider some security changes. Senior White House correspondent Ed Henry here with more on that story. So, Ed, what do we know?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it's interesting. We know that House majority leader Eric Cantor is going to be pulling together both sides on Wednesday for a big meeting, a security update. But also they'll be weighing what to do for individual members. Some members saying they're now scared of their security, that they may have been for some time. This is just confirming it for them because, you know, most of their events back home in their districts, they don't have security. Gabrielle Giffords did not have security at her event. The sheriff saying, look, unless there's a specific, credible threat before the event, the police are probably not going to be there.

But an interesting potential battle brewing here because of the fact that you had Democrat Jim Clyburn saying yesterday he would like to see members have their office budgets increased in order to beef up security. But new speaker John Boehner has been talking about cutting those budgets by five percent. So, there may be - even though both sides want to do something about security, it's going to be interesting to see where they find the money.

Now, secondly, over in the Senate, meanwhile, there has been a lot of talk about trying to lower their temperature on some of this heated rhetoric. You had the Democratic whip, Dick Durbin yesterday on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley saying that he thinks it's time both sides really calm some of this down. He specifically sited Sarah Palin using some of those crosshairs, the targets during the health care debate, targeting some of the Democratic districts and maybe that would be an example of toning it down. But Republican Senator Lamar Alexander was very firm in saying it's not fair to tie Sarah Palin to this tragedy in any way, even though Lamar Alexander did add that it's time for both sides to, quote "tone it down."

Finally here at the White House, the tragedy, of course, changing president's schedule a bit. He was supposed to go to upstate New York tomorrow to give a speech on the economy. That has now been postponed. He hopes to do it at a later time. The White House aides still weighing in on whether the president will travel to Arizona. When you talk to them privately, they say their biggest concern is not interfering with the investigation, not interfering with the grieving process going on in Arizona. There's always the potential for either a trip and maybe even possibly some sort of a national speech by the president.

The thing that's happened in a few moments, you see this monitor has the South Lawn of the White House. What's going on is the president and the first lady are going to come out along with White House staffers and they're going to observe a moment of silence. This is in a few moments. We see people gathering at the Capitol. There will be a bipartisan moment of silence over there, as well. So, of course, we'll be covering that live, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Appreciate it. We sure will. Ed henry, thanks so much. And we will have your next political update in about an hour. And a reminder, for the latest political news, you can always go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.

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PHILLIPS: Time to "Fast Forward" and get a look at the day ahead.

And we start with lunchtime at the White House. President Obama scheduled to meet with French president Nicolas Sarkozy. The hot topic: global economic recovery. France is taking over the presidency of the G-8 and G-20 economic groups.

Then, in Texas, Tom "The Hammer" Delay fights to stay out of prison. The sentencing hearing is underway today for the former House majority leader. He was convicted in 2002 for money laundering back in November. He could be looking at a life in prison.

And court appearance today for the young man accused of opening fire on Arizona Congresswoman and her constituents. Six people dead, 14 others wounded. Representative Gabby Giffords still in critical condition after taking a bullet to the brain. The suspect right here, Jared Loughner, due in court at 4 p.m. Eastern.

But in just a few minutes, at the top of the hour, President Obama asking Americans to pause in silence to honor the victims.

Carol Costello will bring you live coverage of that moment right after the break.

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